Relativity and photons in laser-plasmas and z-pinches

An electron interacting with an intense, planar electromagnetic field leads to relativistic quiver motion. Under such conditions a host of phenomena not normally associated with light waves occur when the wave interacts with a plasma. These include the production of extreme magnetic fields as high as 700 MG and the acceleration of electrons and protons to 100's of MeV over micron to millimetre length scales. Wire array z-pinches have been shown to be a source of ultra powerful X-ray pulses (>230 TW) and record ion temperatures of 2 billion Kelvin.